“Fond” And Its Foolish Foundations
The word fond actually originated from two different languages, and, in each
language, its meaning evolved over the years. Now an ameliorated word, fond is still
fairly widely used. It’s interesting to see just how much the meaning of the word has
changed, but it is also interesting to see the ties between the original meaning of the word
and its modern meaning.
Fond originated in the Middle English language around 1340 A.D. It was
typically used to describe someone or something as being foolish or silly. For example,
an entry in the Mid-Yorksh Glossary from 1876 states, “I’d a dizziness in my head that
turned me fair fond” (“Fond”, 6). Fond probably derived from the Middle English word,
fonne, which meant “fool”. When it was first being used, it had several different spellings
including “fonnyd” and “fonnet”. These two forms are probably the most foreign looking
to us today. The different spellings of the word were not really that common in literature.
The authors and poets mainly used the form “fond”, which is the form we use today. If
the original definition of the word is looked at loosely it is easy to see the connection to
today’s definition of fond. Today, fond indicates a strong affectionate emotion towards
someone or something. For example, one may say, “I am very fond of summer vacation”.
Foolishness ties into that because you can be foolishly affectionate about something,
which would mean that you were really passionate about it. The saying “hopelessly in
love” is similar to this idea and may make it a bit clearer. When you are “hopelessly in
love” you have so much affectionate emotion for that person or thing that it becomes a bit
foolish.
During this same time period, from around 1340 A.D. through the
nineteenth century, fond actually had a second meaning in the Middle English language.
Its second meaning had a more negative connotation, which shows just how much the
word ameliorated over time. It was used to describe things that were insipid or sicklyflavored. This definition is really odd because when a person normally thinks of the word
fond a more pleasant connotation arises. This definition, however, implies the opposite. It
is quite uncommon to see fond used this way, most of the time it is used with a more
positive implication.
As the years went on, the meaning of fond came closer and closer to its
modern day meaning. In 1603, Shakespeare wrote, “ile bribe you… Not with fond Sickles
of the tested gold” (“Fond”,6). In this sentence, Shakespeare uses fond to show obsessive
value of “trivial” objects. In 1641, Hinde writes in J. Bruen, “Fond affection without
moderation”. In this sentence, fond is used to show an excessive affection towards
someone. In regards to people, when a person is fond of another person he or she is
generally admirable of his or her “actions and attributes” (“Fond”, 6). Concerning
opinions, fondness of an opinion generally means that the person is passionate about an
idea or belief.
The word fond also originated in France, but the meaning was completely
different than the Middle English meaning. In French, the forms of the word were “fond”,
“fonds”, and “fonde”, and in Old French the forms were “fonz” and “fons”. The word had
three basic meanings in French. The first meaning was foundation. This makes sense
because it is easy to see where the English word “foundation” could be derived from the
French word “fond”. The second meaning is a bit more outlandish. Fond was also another
term for lace-making. It is essentially the groundwork or foundation of lace-making. The
final meaning of fond was a sum of money. Later, this was replaced by “fund”, which
derived from the Latin word “fundus”. We use the word “funds” to refer to money as
well.
While the French word fond did influence the meaning of our English
word “foundation”, it did not really have any influence over our modern English
translation of fond. Our translation came solely from the Middle English definition of the
word, which was really established around 1590 when the word began to be used to show
strong affection. Today, fond is only used to indicate strong affection for someone or
something, but this affection generally refers to innocent, admirable affection rather than
affection based on superficial attraction. The definition went from describing a state of
being to describing an emotion, which is more abstract. . It is really amazing how a word
like fond with a simple definition can evolve completely so that it meaning has become
more complex.
Works Cited
"Fond."Oxford English Dictionary. VI. 1989.